The most heartbreaking playoff moment for all 32 NFL teams

With the NFL playoffs kicking off in two days, FOX Sports went back through the postseason histories of all 32 teams to pick the worst moment for every franchise and -- hoo boy -- there are some bad ones. (Teams listed alphabetically by division. All dates refer to the season, not the calendar year, the game was played.)

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Dallas Cowboys -- Romo's botch (2006 NFC wild card at Seahawks)

The streak was over. Tony Romo, in his first season as a starter, had led Dallas on a 70-yard drive in the final minutes to set up a chip-shot 19-yard field goal that would have put Dallas one minute away from its first playoff win in 20 years. But Romo, still serving as holder, botched a perfect snap, fumbling it before Martin Gramatica could attempt anything. Romo picked up the ball from the turf, instinctively ran to his left and, for a brief second, looked like he was going to have the last laugh, scoring the go-ahead touchdown on an improbable 9-yard run. But Jordan Babineaux, who nearly scooped up the fumble and then trailed Romo after the best block Gramatica could give (e.g. not very), looked beat but somehow fully extended himself on a dive and managed to trip up the quarterback-turned-holder-turned-runner, knocking him down 5 feet from glory. Watching the replay over and over, it doesn't look like the two nearby Seattle defenders would have been able to stop Romo if Babineaux didn't. It was a moot point. Seattle ran down the clock, and the Dallas playoff drought continued. The play would help convince Bill Parcells to retire.

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New York Giants -- The Snap (2002 wild card vs. 49ers)

It's a tough call between the Flipper Anderson game and this one, which involved at its center (literally) Trey Junkin, a 19-year long-snapping veteran who was called out of retirement four days before the game. After the Giants had blown a 24-point lead, Junkin came out with six seconds left for a routine snap that would lead to a game-winning 40-yard field goal. But he botched it, and holder Matt Allen heaved the ball downfield to an ineligible receiver (who was penalized) who got tackled by a defender (who was not). Junkin said it was the second bad snap in his NFL career but in defeat and embarrassment remained nothing but a stand-up guy. (The kicker of it all: Jim Fassel had sent out the unit on third down, meaning Allen could have fallen on the ball to set up a new attempt from 47 or 48 yards.)

He insists he didn't, teammates insist he did. But regardless of whether Donovan McNabb vomited during the most pressure-packed quarter of his career is irrelevant to anything except narrative flourish. Whatever happened, the Eagles-Patriots Super Bowl wasn't as close as we remember. The teams were tied at the start of the fourth quarter, but New England quickly went up 10 points. McNabb threw a crucial pick down 10 and then -- this is where our memories don't fail us -- came the infamous touchdown drive that was run with all the urgency of a Sunday stroll. After plays that didn't stop the clock, the Eagles took 30, 33, 34, 33 and 35 seconds before their next snap, a plodding pace for any game situation but a remarkable one in a two-score Super Bowl with the clock approaching two minutes.

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Washington Redskins -- Super Bowl XVIII vs. Raiders, 1983

The '83 Redskins, coming off a Super Bowl title in the strike-shortened 1982 season, were one of the great regular-season teams the NFL had ever seen. They shattered the league record for most points (541), a mark that wouldn't be topped for 15 years. They were two points from being 16-0 -- a Week 1 loss to Dallas on Monday night and a Week 7 loss to Green Bay also on Monday night (some things never change) both came by a single point. They outscored their two NFC playoff opponents 75-30. And then came the Super Bowl where the Redskins were victims of one of the most unexpected blowouts in the sport's history. The big play came with seven seconds to go in the first half. Washington was lucky to be down 14-3 and would be getting the ball to start the second half, so the glass was half full at least. But with the team on its own 12 with 12 seconds left, Joe Theismann threw a bizarre screen pass that L.A.'s Jack Squirek jumped on and returned 5 yards for a touchdown. The Raiders went on to win 38-9 -- at the time, the biggest blowout in Super Bowl history.

After Joe Gibbs and the Redskins halted Da Bears' back-to-back bid in the 1986 playoffs, Chicago was out for revenge in 1987 and looked poised for a Super Bowl return when it took a 14-point lead in the second quarter. But with the game tied in the third, All-Pro corner and NFL's fastest man Darrell Green went back for a punt, took it, cut left and then hopped a defender, straining cartilage in his ribs en route to a go-ahead touchdown. On the Bears' final play of the game, Walter Payton fell 1 yard short of the sticks on a fourth-down run. He would never play in the NFL again.

Detroit Lions -- 1991 NFC championship at Redskins

The Lions have made the division round three times in the 50-year Super Bowl era. The only time they advanced to a championship game was in 1991, when they rolled over a Cowboys team still a year away from dominance to travel to RFK Stadium and face the Redskins in the championship game. The teams played to open the season, with Washington rolling 45-0. On the bright side for the Lions, the title game was closer. The Redskins only won 41-10. It's as far as the Lions have ever been in the modern NFL playoffs.

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Green Bay Packers -- Frozen (2007 NFC championship vs. Giants)

In one of the coldest games ever played (if you don't remember, Tom Coughlin's face does), Green Bay snuck into overtime after the Giants missed a field goal as regulation ended. The Packers won the toss and there was no doubt one of two things was imminent: a touchdown pass or an interception. The latter won out. It would be the last throw Brett Favre would ever make in a Packers uniform.

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Minnesota Vikings -- Wide left (1998 NFC championship vs. Falcons)

With 2:07 left, the 15-1 Vikings, the highest-scoring team in NFL history led by Randall Cunningham and a rookie Randy Moss, trotted out Gary Anderson for a 38-yard field goal that would have put Minnesota up 10 points and effectively sent the team to a Super Bowl. It was a sure thing. Anderson didn't missed any kick all season -- except this one. It sailed wide left, the Falcons came back to tie and the Vikings, seemingly stunned by what was happening in front of them (or, more appropriately, what wasn't happening) crawled under their helmets to hide. When the team got the ball back with 49 seconds left in regulation, the late Dennis Green had Randall Cunningham (he the leader of an offense that had scored 607 points that year) kneel instead of, oh I don't know, throwing the ball to Randy Moss. (Hello? You play to win the game!) The offense punted twice in OT before the Falcons unleashed the Dirty Bird on an unsuspecting world.

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Atlanta Falcons -- 2011 NFC championship vs. 49ers

First-and-goal from the 49ers' 16-yard line. Down 28-24. Just over two minutes remaining in the game. Matt Ryan with a chance to take Atlanta back to the Super Bowl for a second time. First down, run. Second down, short pass to Jason Snelling. Third down, incomplete to Roddy White. Fourth-and-4, incomplete in the end zone to White. The common thread of those four plays: none went to Julio Jones, who had 11 receptions for 182 yards and two touchdowns on just 13 targets that afternoon.

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Carolina Panthers -- Super Bowl XXXIII vs. Patriots, 2003

Of Carolina's seven playoff losses, six were by two scores or more. The seventh was Super Bowl XXXIII, when the Panthers had a lead on the two-time champion Patriots with three minutes to go, lost it, tied the game with 1:08 remaining but then allowed New England to get into field goal position for (another) title-winning field goal by Adam Vinatieri. And the team missed Janet Jackson's halftime show to boot. Bummer.

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New Orleans Saints -- Beast Mode (2010 wild card at Seattle)

The reigning Super Bowl champs were 11-5 and had the second-best record in the NFC but had to go on the road for a wild-card game. No matter; it was against the NFC West champ Seattle Seahawks, who set an ignominious NFL record by becoming the first seven-win team to earn a division title. The Saints were 10-point road favorites, which should have been the first clue -- I don't have many rules but fading double-digit home dogs is better than a 401K. It was a crazy, back-and-forth game that was eventually clinched when the NFL got its first real look at what Beast Mode was all about, when Marshawn Lynch had his crazy, video game, drag-a-defense 67-yard touchdown that put Seattle up by 11 points.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- 1999 NFC championship at Rams

In their previous seven games, the Greatest Show on Turf had scored 49, 31, 34, 31, 30, 34 and 43 points. In the NFC championship, Tampa held a 6-5 (not a typo) lead with five minutes left until Kurt Warner finally struck and the Rams went on to the Super Bowl.

Playing with just the fifth two-touchdown spread in Super Bowl history -- which is amazing given that there were just two such spreads in the entire NFL this season -- the 17-2 Rams were going to roll over an upstart Patriots team that included a doughy backup quarterback and Bill Parcells' pet. Then Mike Martz started getting cute with Marshall Faulk, the Patriots began showing what would make them the NFL's greatest modern dynasty and Adam Vinatieri made a kick as time expired to cap the biggest upset since the merger. Of course, the Patriots would have been out of the playoffs three weeks before if the NFL rule book weren't a living document. This is the game that birthed the Brady and Belichick era.

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San Francisco 49ers -- Super Bowl XLVII vs. Ravens, 2012

The tables were turned. Unlike in the NFC championship when they had to make a goal line stand against the Falcons, this time the 49ers had to break one. With 2:39 left, trailing by five, Colin Kaepernick had SF on the Baltimore 7-yard line. One run and three straight incompletions to Michael Crabtree later and the Niners had their first-ever Super Bowl loss.

Perhaps the most deflating play call in NFL history. Marshawn Lynch had run 4 yards on first-and-goal from the 5 and Seattle had it at the 1-yard line with 26 seconds left and a timeout (Pete Carroll opted to let the clock run 40 seconds after that first run.) Rather than give to Lynch (operating under the old Joe Bugel axiom: I'll tell you which play is coming and I dare you to stop it), the Seahawks passed and you, and Malcolm Butler, know what happened next.

Buffalo Bills -- Wide right (Super Bowl XXV vs. Giants, 1990)

It's never a good sign when your field goal is the focal point of a documentary.

"It was a game that begged description, a masterpiece with few equals, an example of just how entertaining a professional football game can be," the Associated Press wrote after Miami and San Diego played a masterpiece in the 1981 AFC divisional playoff. The Dolphins came back from 24-0 down and had 43-yard field goal to win the game on the last play of regulatio,n but it was blocked, just as a chip shot 27-yarder was in overtime. The Chargers eventually got one through the uprights late into the first overtime to win 41-38 in what was the highest-scoring playoff game ever and the fourth-longest NFL game in history up to that point. Miami would go on to lose two Super Bowls in the subsequent years, but nothing stung as much as this.

The Pats led 21-6 at halftime, and it looked like another playoff disappointment for Peyton Manning. But a wild second half that saw Indy score 32 points, including the game-winning touchdown on a drive that went 80 yards in 1:15 and left under a minute on the clock, put Manning into his first Super Bowl. One of the great games of this century.

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New York Jets -- Double OT (1986 AFC divisional playoffs at Browns)

With 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Jets had a 20-10 lead over the new-and-improved Browns. Two Bernie Kosar drives later, the game went to OT and then to a second session of OT before a field goal gave the Browns their first playoff win in 18 years in the third-longest game in NFL history. The excitement would be short-lived though (see: Browns, Cleveland).

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Baltimore Ravens -- The Drop (2011 AFC championship at Patriots)

Lee Evans did not score a touchdown on the play above, which took place with 22 seconds remaining in the 2011 title game. Joe Flacco's pass hit him in the numbers, Evans wrapped his hands around the ball, took a step and then, as he was about to plant his left foot, had the ball knocked out of his hands by Sterling Moore. Two plays later, Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal that would have tied the game. An easy victory turned easy overtime appearance instead became a crushing loss.

Cleveland Browns -- The Fumble (1987 AFC championship vs. Broncos)

First it was The Drive. In the '86 championship game, John Elway went 98 yards in 15 plays in five minutes to tear the hearts out of Browns fans, who, the week before, had just won their first playoff game in 18 years. The Drive was every bit as magical as 30 years of legend has made it out to be. But as is often the case when one memory dominates others (like how Bill Buckner's error came in a game that was tied because of a blown save by the Red Sox bullpen), there's more to The Drive than just The Drive. It only tied the AFC championship, for instance. The Browns had possession first in overtime. They went three-and-out before Denver sealed the game. And the pain was relatively new to fans, accustomed to years of mediocrity. The Drive was the gut punch. The Fumble was the knockout punch. It came exactly one year later when, with one minute left in the '87 championship, Earnest Byner, the Browns bruising back, took the handoff at the 10, rumbled left and dragged backup corner Jeremiah Castille 3 yards toward the goal line for a game-tying score. The official positioned at the pylon began running toward the play, ready to put his hands up for a touchdown but, by then, Byner had lost the ball. Castille recovered and Denver had done it to Cleveland again.

Pittsburgh Steelers -- Tebow time (2011 AFC wild card vs. Steelers)

Denver made the 2011 playoffs on a flattop and a prayer, somehow going on a six-game win streak in the middle of the season after Kyle Orton was benched in favor of Tim Tebow, as foretold in the Book of Revelation. How Denver kept winning is either a mystery or proof of divine intervention. In the first five wins of the streak, Tebow had 10 completions or fewer, including a 2-for8, 69-yard performance against Kansas City. The team ended the year on a three-game skid but still snuck into the playoffs because of a Week 17 result that took place 1,000 miles from its game. It was sure to be a brief stay of execution. Pittsburgh was 12-4 and coming off a Super Bowl appearance. Denver was allergic to first-half scoring (in Tebow's 11 starts, the team had three points or fewer at halftime six times) and won insane games -- like that time it was shut out by the Bears in the first 58 minutes and then mind-bogglingly tied the game with 10 late points and won in overtime. Tebow could have turned water into Gatorade on the sideline and it wouldn't have been so miraculous. So when the Steelers came to town, favored by 7.5, it was to be the end of Tebow time. But with Demaryius Thomas as his Lazarus, Tebow led Denver to 20 first-half points and a fourth-quarter lead, for a change. The game went to overtime where, on the first play, Tebow play-faked to Willis McGahee, which all the Steelers bought because -- come on, it was Tebow -- and Timmy hit Thomas for an 80-yard touchdown. It was the longest overtime touchdown in playoff history and the shortest overtime the NFL had ever seen. That Pittsburgh team had legit Super Bowl aspirations, which made the loss hurt all the more, as did watching Denver revert to true to form in a 45-10 loss to New England the next week. Tebow would never start another NFL game.

Houston Texans -- 2011 AFC divisional playoff at Ravens

Houston has made the playoffs four times in its 16-year history, all in the last six years. That's three losses, with one more to come in a few days. One of those three losses was a 30-0 shutout (last year against the Chiefs). Another was a defeat at the hands of the Patriots (it was close for a half but quickly turned into a blowout in which Houston trailed 38-13). So, by default, their bitterest playoff moment was their 2011 divisional playoff loss to the Ravens, one that saw Houston -- no, it's all too boring. Long story short: T.J. Yates was involved.

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Indianapolis Colts -- Broadway Joe (Super Bowl III vs. Jets, 1968)

The mighty Baltimore Colts were 18-point favorites to win the third straight Super Bowl for the NFL, but Joe Namath's guarantee proved prophetic and the Jets didn't just beat the Colts, they pounded them, shutting out Johnny Unitas and Co. for 57 minutes and ultimately winning 17-6. Of the many, many Peyton Manning playoff losses, most just slowly sapped the soul of Colts fans. The biggest gut punch was when they let Mark Sanchez orchestra a last-minute drive to win a 2010 wild-card game.

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Jacksonville Jaguars -- 1999 AFC championship vs. Titans

The Jags have been a touchdown underdog in five of their six playoff losses, and the only one they covered was when they lost to New England by 11 in 2007 but were getting 13.5 points. The lone exception was the 1999 AFC playoffs, when the 13-3 Jags were a touchdown favorite over Steve McNair and Tennessee in the AFC title game. Jacksonville had a halftime lead but was outscored 23-0 in the second half. The Jags haven't had a home playoff game since.

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Tennessee Titans -- A yard short (Super Bowl XXXVIX vs. Rams, 1999)

In the game that started the modern run of entertaining Super Bowls (from 1984-99 there were more far blowouts than close games and only one or two nail biters), Kevin Dyson caught a slant from Steve McNair at the 5-yard line, made it 2 yards before Mike Jones made contact at the 3 and then was brought down at the 1, just as time expired. It would have been the first overtime in Super Bowl history (and we're still waiting). The play wasn't as close as you remember, though. Jones made a great tackle, but Dyson never looked like he'd score. And the Titans don't get enough flak for having one shot at the end zone from the 10-yard line and throwing 5 yards short of it.

In Peyton Manning's first year in Denver, the Broncos were the best team in the league and clear Super Bowl favorites. With 40 seconds left in their first playoff game it appeared that would remain the case, as Denver had Baltimore backed up on its own 30-yard line facing a third-and-3 with 41 seconds left, no timeouts and needing seven points to send the game to overtime. Their win probability was 99.84 percent. But somehow -- some way -- safety Chris Harris let Jacoby Jones get behind the defense and then, even more inexplicably, Harris stopped running, left Jones and tried to play Joe Flacco's under-thrown pass like he was the wideout. Harris misjudged it like a center fielder who loses the ball in the sun, leaping a good 2 seconds and 3 yards early, Jones cradled the catch and ran in for the unbelievable touchdown. Denver had two possessions in overtime but never got within 10 yards of midfield. Baltimore won on a field goal early in the second OT.

In what's still the NFL's longest game, the Dolphins outlasted the Chiefs in a crazy, muddy Christmas Day divisional playoff game that finished 82 minutes 40 seconds after it began. One of the greatest kickers in NFL history, Jan Stenerud, missed a 31-yard field goal with 35 seconds left that would have put Kansas City ahead. The Norweigan had already missed another, and in overtime he and Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremien (who would become famous one year later for his botched field goal in the victorious Super Bowl of Miami's undefeated season) both failed to hit game-winners. It was to be the Chiefs last game at Municipal Stadium. They'd move to Arrowhead the following year.

While the Tuck Rule game would have been the worst moment for many NFL franchises, the Raiders have a playoff loss that was even worse. In 1972, John Madden's crew held a 7-6 lead with 1:13 remaining in their AFC divisional game. Pittsburgh faced a fourth-and-10 from its own 40. Terry Bradshaw scrambled to buy some time in the pocket and then heaved a pass to Frenchy Fuqua. Just as the pass reached the Steelers receiver, the fearsome Raiders linebacker Jack Tatum dipped his shoulder for one of his patented upending hits and knocked Fuqua down, but not before the ball struck someone's helmet or a pad, caromed 7 yards backward and was scooped up by Hall of Famer Franco Harris just before it hit the turf. Raiders defenders in the secondary thought the play was over and paused for an instant, which was just enough to spring Harris, who outran four Raiders defenders for the unlikeliest touchdown in NFL history and one that earned the best nickname for any play in sports history: The Immaculate Reception.

The play brought immediate controversy. At the time, the NFL rule book said two offensive players couldn't touch the ball consecutively, meaning if the pass hit Fuqua's helmet and went straight to Harris, the play was illegal. If the ball was last touched by Tatum before ricocheting back, it was a touchdown. There was no instant replay at the time but it was used nonetheless when the referee made a controversial call to the NFL's supervisor of officials, who confirmed the ball hit Tatum, upholding the touchdown.

Tatum insisted the ball didn't touch him while Fuqua declared the same. In his postgame presser, Madden said he thought Tatum hit the ball (which would have upheld the touchdown and ended the controversy) but doubt still lingers, not helped by inconclusive, grainy television replays. (FWIW, I think it hit Fuqua, not Tatum. Watch for yourself.) Only two men really knew what happened and now that Tatum is dead, Fuqua is the secret keeper. He says he's always asked about it and gives the same answer every time.

The league-best 14-2 Chargers were in control against the Pats, leading 21-13 with 6:25 left and New England facing a fourth-and-5 from the San Diego 41. Brady looked for his safety blanket Troy Brown, but Chargers safety Marion McCree stepped in front of the ball and picked it off. He barely took a step when Brown reached in, stripped the ball and the Pats recovered it for a first down. They scored later on the drive, got the game-tying two-point conversion and then took the lead with one minute left. San Diego had a chance to tie but Nate Kaeding missed a 54-yard field goal.